CONSUMER

BEHAVIOUR

2017- 18

1
 Session

Understand the Process and Four

Elements of Consumer Learning.
Study Behavioral Learning and Understand
Its Applications to Consumption Behavior.
Study Information Processing and
Cognitive Learning and Understand Their
Strategic Applications to Consumer
Behavior.
 Session

Study Consumer Involvement and Passive

Learning and Understand Their Strategic
Affects on Consumer Behavior.
Understand How Consumer Learning and
Its Results Are Measured.
 Learning

The process by which individuals acquire the

purchase and consumption knowledge and
experience that they apply to future related
behavior
Past knowledge and experience is applied to
present circumstances and behavior
Some learning is intentional and some is incidental
 4 Elements of Learning

Motivation Unfilled needs lead to motivation which triggers learning

Stimuli that direct motives

Cues Price, styling, packaging, advertising and store displays are cues
designed to persuade consumers to fulfill their needs

Consumers reaction to a drive or cue

Response Learning can occur even if the response does not culminate into
a purchase

Reinforcement is the reward pleasure, enjoyment, benefits

Reinforcement that the consumer receives after buying and using a product
Increases the likelihood that a response will occur in the future
 Measures of Consumer Learning

Memory: Whether consumers remember

seeing the ad (recognition) and the extent to
which they can recall the brand (recall)

Brand Loyalty
 Two Models of Learning

Conditioned or Behavioural or
Stimulus-response Learning Cognitive Learning

Based on observable behaviors Learning based on mental

(responses) that occur as the information processing
result of exposure to stimuli Often in response to problem
Three forms of Behavioural solving
Learning:
Classical Conditioning
Instrumental or Operant
Conditioning
Observational Learning or
Modeling
Behavioral Learning: Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning:
knee-jerk response that builds up through repeated
exposure and reinforcement
creates an association between stimulus and response
(behaviour or feeling)
e.g. promotion and purchase
A behavioral learning theory according to which an
established stimulus(e.g. music) and response (pleasant
feelings) is paired with another stimulus (the brand) to elicit
a known response
Behavioral Learning: Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning: Pavlovs Model

Conditioned learning results when a stimulus that is paired with
another stimulus elicits similar response
Dogs salivate at the sight of meat paste which is an Unconditioned
Stimulus (i.e. a stimulus that occurs naturally in response to given
circumstances)
Pavlov created an experiment where he sounded a bell and immediately
applied a meat paste to the dogs; so this bell became a Conditioned
Stimulus (i.e. a stimulus that became associated with a particular event
or feeling due to repetition)
After repeated pairings of the bell and the meat paste, the dogs got
conditioned to this stimulus and started salivating to the bell alone as
they did to the meat paste; this became their Conditioned Response
(i.e. response to a conditioned stimulus)
Models of Classical Conditioning
 Discussion
For the following brands:
Mountain Dew
Slice
Johnsons
Lux

How have they used classical conditioning in their marketing?

Identify the unconditioned and conditioned stimuli and the conditioned

response.
 Strategic Applications of Classical
Conditioning

Basic Concepts Repeated exposure to the

pairing between
Repetition unconditioned and
conditioned stimuli increases
Stimulus the association between them
generalization
Slows the pace of forgetting
Stimulus
discrimination Advertising wearout is a
problem when people start
getting fed up seeing the ad
 Strategic Applications of Classical
Conditioning

Basic Concepts Having the same response to

slightly different stimuli

Repetition Sometimes the imitative me-

too products also succeed as
Stimulus consumers confuse them with
generalization the original product they have
seen
Stimulus
discrimination Useful in:
product extensions
family branding
licensing
 Strategic Applications of Classical
Conditioning

Basic Concepts Selection of a specific

stimulus from similar
stimuli
Repetition
Opposite of stimulus
Stimulus generalization
generalization This discrimination is the
basis of positioning which
Stimulus looks for unique ways to
discrimination fill needs
Behavioral Learning: Operant Conditioning

Instrumental (Operant) Conditioning: A behavioral theory

of learning based on a trial-and-error process creates an
association between response and outcome/ reward e.g.
purchase and satisfaction
The stimulus that results in the most rewarded response is
learned
A favourable experience is the reward / reinforcement
which acts as an instrument of teaching the individual to
repeat a specific behaviour
A Model of Instrumental Conditioning
 Reinforcement of Behavior
Two types of Reinforcement / rewards influence the likelihood that the
response will be repeated

Positive Negative
reinforcement reinforcement

Positive outcome Negative outcome

Strengthens Encourages
likelihood behavior
E.g. to get that E.g. To avoid
flawless skin getting pimples or
a headache
 Reinforcement of Behavior

Extinction Forgetting

A learned response The reinforcement is

which is no longer forgotten
reinforced, e.g. a It can be brought back
consumer unsatisfied by contacting
with a service consumers again and
It has become extinct, giving them incentives
it is unlearned to buy
The link between
stimulus and reward
is eliminated
 Strategic Applications of Instrumental
Conditioning

Customer Satisfaction (Reinforcement): means that each time the customer has
an experience with the product or company, there has been positive reinforcement
Give extra Reinforcement in the form of rebates, coupons, toys
Make servicescapes pleasant places to shop
Direct mail / message / email to congratulate customers
Most effective reinforcements are personal connections with customers, rewards
for referrals
Behavioral Learning: Observational Learning

Observational Learning / Modeling:

A process by which individuals learn behavior by observing the behavior
of others and the consequences of such behavior

It occurs NOT through responses directly to the consumer but by

observation of the behavior and responses of others.

For this type of learning, reinforcement must take place

Consumers tend to imitate the behavior of those they see rewarded,

expecting to be rewarded similarly if they adopt the same behaviour

Marketers often use role models in their advertising so that consumers

can understand the rewards of purchasing the advertisers products.
 Cognitive Learning

Cognitive Learning
Is the systematic evaluation of information
and alternatives to solve an unfilled need
or unsolved problem
Unlike Behavioural learning which focuses
on instinctive responses to stimuli,
Cognitive learning involves complex mental
processing of information
It occurs when consumers have a goal and
must search for information to solve that
problem
The three stages of Cognitive Learning are:
Gathering information, Evaluation and
Behaviour / Action
 Memory

Sensory Store:
Mental space in the human mind from where any sensory input enters and lasts
for just a second or two
If it is not processed immediately, it is lost
For marketers: although it is easy to enter a consumers sensory store, it is
difficult to make a lasting impression

Short-term Store:
Here the information is processed and held for a brief period
Information decays quickly; needs to be refreshed
If there is mental repetition of this information, it is transferred to Long-term
store, else it is lost
Limited capacity to store information; limited to four or five items
 Memory

Long-term Store:
Mental space where information is retained for extended periods of time
It is more common for information in long-term store to last for days, weeks or
even years
Unlimited, permanent storage
Information can be recalled and retrieved from here
 Involvement

Theorists realized that many routine purchases dont involve

extensive information
Consumer Involvement is the degree of personal relevance that the
product or purchase holds for that customer.
High involvement purchases are very important to the consumer due
to perceived risk (social / financial)
Low-involvement purchases hold little relevance, have little
perceived risk hence limited information processing
 Measuring Involvement with an
Advertisement
Subjects respond to the following statements on a 7-point Likert scale ranging
from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree.
The message in the slogan was important to me
The slogan didnt have anything to do with my needs
The slogan made me think about joining the military
The slogan made me want to join the military
While reading the slogan, I thought about how the military might be useful for me

The slogan did not show me anything that would make me join the military
I have a more favorable view of the military after seeing the slogan
The slogan showed me the military has certain advantages
The slogan was meaningful to me
The slogan was worth remembering
26
 Marketing Applications of
Involvement
High involvement with a product category and
brand lead to higher brand loyalty
Also leads to long-term relationships with the brand
oAds in video games
oAvatars animated, virtual-reality, people-like figures in
websites to persuade customers
oSensory appeals in ads to get more attention
oForging bonds and relationships with consumers
 Hemispheral Lateralization and Passive
Learning

Hemispheral lateralization
Also called split-brain theory
Human brain is divided into two distinct cerebral hemispheres that operate
together but specialize in different things

Left Hemisphere
Center of human language
Responsible for reading, speaking and reasoning
Rational, Active and Realistic

Right Brain
Source of imagination and pleasure
Emotional, Impulsive and Intuitive
 Hemispheric Lateralization
Both Sides of the Brain are Involved in Decision

COPYRIGHT 2010 PEARSON EDUCATION, INC. PUBLISHING AS PRENTICE HALL Chapter Seven Slide 30
 Implication

TV advertising, which consists mostly of moving images and

pictorial information is processed by the right side of the
brain and is low-involvement media
Printed, verbal information in newspapers, magazines etc. is
processed by the left side of the brain and is high-
involvement
Right brains passive processing is consistent with classic
conditioning and through repetition and pairing leads to
purchase of the brand
Left brains active processing is consistent with cognitive
information processing

COPYRIGHT 2010 PEARSON EDUCATION, INC. PUBLISHING AS PRENTICE HALL Chapter Seven Slide 31